RULING RCD PARTY RESHUFFLES THE TOP

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 001059

SIPDIS

FOR NEA/MAG (SWILLIAMS, MNARDI, VSTEWART)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/23/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR TS
SUBJECT: RULING RCD PARTY RESHUFFLES THE TOP

REF: A. TUNIS 958

B. TUNIS 879

C. TUNIS 859

Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (SBU) Following President Zine el Abdidine Ben Ali's
Cabinet reshuffle, the ruling Democratic Constittional Rally
(RCD) announced changes in the leadership of its Political
Bureau (PB) September 5. In Tunisia, Cabinet Ministers fall
somewhere behind the members of the RCD Political Bureau in
political influence. Ben Ali governs through his immediate
Minister Advisors or "shadow cabinet" in the Palace, then
through the RCD, then through the regular ministerial
structures of the government. Ben Ali chose the nine members
of the RCD PB from among the 343 members of the RCD Central
Committee.


2. (SBU) Ben Ali is the President of the RCD. Since 1999,
when Mohamed Ghannouchi replaced Hamed Karoui as Prime
Minister, there have been two RCD vice-presidents because Ben
Ali did not want to remove Karoui, a key ally, and thus
created a second vice-president position. This year the RCD
finally decided to eliminate one of the two positions and
Karoui, now in his eighties, retired. The second important
move was the naming of Mohamed Ghariani, 46, as Secretary
General of the party replacing Hedi M'Henni who has been
Secretary General since 2005. Ghariani has been active in
party politics since 1983 and has been a member of the RCD
Central Committee since 1993. In 1995 he was named the RCD
Permanent Secretary for Youth. Since January 2007 he has
served as Minister Advisor to the President, or the shadow
"Minister of Interior." Previously he was Ambassador to
London 2005-2007.


3. (SBU) The other members of the RCD political bureau are
holdovers. The first three were named to the PB in 2006 and
the rest are long-time members of the RCD inner circle:
--Ahmed Iyadh Ouederni, 55, Chief-of-Staff to the President
--Abdelwaheb Abdallah, 68, Minister of Foreign Affairs
--Rafik Belhaj Kacem, 59, Minister of Interior
--Abdallah Kallel, 65, RCD Treasurer, President of the
Chamber of Advisors 2005-2008, previously Minister of
Interior in the early 1990's
--Foued M'Bazaa, 75, former parliamentarian until 1997, and
President of the Chamber of Deputies since 1999;
--Abdalaziz Ben Dhia, 72, Minister Advisor to the President
and shadow Prime Minister


4. (C) Comment: Ben Ali's naming of Ghariani as Secretary
General follows other indications that the President is
trying to bring some new blood into the heart of the
government. The other major indication was the composition
of the RCD Central Committee in August where the President
placed an emphasis on bringing younger members into the
Central Committee (Ref B) by bringing in 63 new members under
the age of 30. End Comment.

GODEC